DESERT SPRINGS RESORT ANNOUNCE DEVELOPMENT OF CRICKET GROUND

DESERT SPRINGS RESORT ANNOUNCE

DEVELOPMENT OF CRICKET GROUND

Desert Springs Resort, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course, in the Almanzora region of Almeria, Andalucía in south-east Spain, has today announced the construction of a dedicated cricket ground with an eighteen (18) wicket square.

The cricket ground, being constructed to ECB standards and specifications will be ready for play in February 2018 and will be open all year round. To be complimented by a Marquee pavilion, sightscreens, scoreboard, sprint strips, and associated facilities, this will provide an outstanding facility to practice and play cricket all year round and, in particular, out of the English cricket season. The cricket ground will provide opportunities for festivals and tournaments covering all formats of the game, appealing to cricketers of all ages and abilities.

This marks further expansion of existing cricket facilities at Desert Springs Resort following the opening of the Cricket Academy in 2013. The Academy has been host to school, college, university, club and professional first class cricket teams for out of season training camps, team building and bonding, players re-habilitation and in the run-up to important matches and competitions. Visiting teams have included; Lancashire CCC, Sussex CCC, Glamorgan CCC, Middlesex CCC, Somerset CCC, Yorkshire CCC, Solent University Cricket Club, Durham MCCU, MCC Women’s Young Cricketers, Trent College, Radley College, Blundell’s School and Whitgift School.

In 2015, the Academy was host to the England Cricket team Pre-Ashes Training Camp and most recently, between 16^th – 19^th May, hosted the England ODI team for a 4-day training camp prior to the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy Tournament.

Future expansion of the cricket facilities will see the introduction of an indoor swimming pool, state of the art gym, physiotherapy rooms and classrooms for educational purposes.

Desert Springs Resort and Matt Root, father of England Test Captain Joe Root, are jointly funding investment for the development project.

Matt Root remarked;

“It has been a long-standing ambition of mine to create a warm-weather cricket training facility in Southern Europe, so I was delighted to seize the opportunity to invest time and resources into the Desert Springs Cricket Ground.

 

The resort has already hosted a variety of teams from schools to full international squads, who have used the resort for net practice and fielding drills. The addition of an international standard pitch with a square of 18 grass wickets will enable us to provide organisations with intense pre- and off-season match practice in addition to an extensive range of other cricket and fitness training facilities.”

“Simon Coaker, Sales & Marketing Manager for The Almanzora Group Ltd. said;

“Across the world, all forms of 
the game of cricket are evolving
 and developing with increasing popularity for men, women, disabled and all age-groups, and the demand for an all year-round European Cricket Training destination, to benefit cricket as a whole, exists.

Being host since 2013 to amateur teams through to most recently the England Cricket team, and in recognition of the extremely positive feedback received, has led to the next and most logical step, that being the expansion of our current cricket academy facilities to develop a world-class cricket ground that will enable visiting players to enjoy competitive matches.

Desert Springs Resort provides Clubs’ with an alternative option to that of having to incur the expense of travelling long haul to the UAE or further to escape the UK’s winter in search of a warm-weather climate to complete their training camps on a world-class grass ground with the leading academy facilities in continental Europe.

Everything a cricket team requires will now be provided for from a cricket ground with the best possible playing surface and associated facilities for first and non- first class matches and training camps for premier leagues, clubs, universities and schools, resort accommodation of the highest standards, full catering services, a host of other activities such as golf and tennis, a fully equipped Sports and Fitness Centre… and the dedicated services of our highly experienced staff.”

Joining the team at Desert Springs Resort is past Sussex County Cricket Club Chief Executive, Zac Toumazi, who will be assisting with the implementation of the strategic objectives of Desert Springs Cricket.

“I am delighted to be joining Simon Coaker and the Desert Springs team at this very exciting time to help deliver the further development of the cricket facilities. The addition of the new cricket ground will ensure Desert Springs Cricket is taken to the next level and will ensure that it establishes itself as the ‘go-to’ resort for cricket training and development. I am pleased that I am able to continue my involvement in cricket with such a great team, in an amazing location and at such an exciting stage.”